Rustling Leaves, Whispering Souls, and Gardens of Stone 10/3/2008 3:01:24 PM
As October Country rolls in, temperatures cool, leaves change color and drop, begin to dance about the ground, and Hallowe’en peeks just around the corner, I find it an opportune time to talk about something many have grave (pardon the pun) issues with: mortality...or, more to the point, the passing away of said. This is a topic with which everyone has varying degrees of familiarity, some more than they’d ever care to experience, especially on a personal level. And what I’m about to discuss, below, is not meant to upset. I genuinely feel for all those who have lost or are losing a loved one. I, like many out there, have lost loved ones. I know the emotion (and it’s all right to cry). But it’s hard for me to say much to people in these situations, because I don’t believe as is generally—or traditionally—believed, that dying is bad or in and of itself something be loathed and hated. Perhaps...this is my attempt at finding words to help soothe or aid one in a “passing” mode, if such persons are open to other points of view. To help and offer MY words of support.
All my life, I’ve delved into this subject, Death...both read and wrote about it. Still do. It has interested me since as long as I can remember, and we’re talking single digits, here. I’ve studied traditional and nontraditional matter...and gleaned from my and others’ experiences. What is it about death that so frightens the average person? Is it the unknown? Obviously, depending upon one’s believes, it depends on what those beliefs are. Burning in Hell or being singed in Purgatory don’t rank high on the Looking Forward To meter, and understandably so. So there’s all that. But what I really want to get to here, in this short space, is my view on what death might or might not be about.
Beliefs.
One word, countless implications.
What it comes down to, on the most simplest of levels is belief. Faith. Substitute your word of choice. It’s all Happys to Glads. But the ultimate Last Call comes down to what each of us believes. On the most basic level, it’s all we got (and I don’t mean to give it any kind of a diminutive character!). And I’ll tell you right now, no one has to believe what I believe in. I’m not looking to convert, as I am to get each of us to look inside ourselves. Ask ourselves...what do *I* believe? Why? Does it suit my mission in life? Soothe my soul? Give meaning to my daily minutiae? Carpooling? Taxes? Working alongside that guy I can’t stand? All good questions.
What DO you believe?
That seemingly innocuous question will color your entire life. Impact absolutely every single thing you do, from picking your nose to planning your physical exit from this existence. And in between, how will your beliefs guide on your Earth (or space-) bound journey? Do you really believe what you THINK you believe?
Why do we feel sad about leaving physical reality?
Is it so bad to leave?
What’s awaiting each of us on the other side?
There’s nothing wrong with missing someone who’s passed...or, if you’re on the receiving end, nothing wrong with missing those you’ll be leaving...but I really do feel that we’re all together on “the other side.” Now, I realize I’m speaking from a different place than some who are closer to passing than myself, right now, and—to be honest?—I don’t really know just how I’ll react when my time comes. I can only hope I’ll embrace it with dignity, the continued fascination I’ve always had, and a pleasant...re-acquaintance?
You see, I also believe that we all—each and every one of us—choose our time of departure, consciously or unconsciously. And I think I’ve pretty much spelled this all out in my book, Sleepwalkers (see link below). This really isn’t a cheap, shameless promotional ploy; it’s just that it is in that book that I show my view about what may go on in the background of life (and death), and I don’t really want to write another 335 pages on it. But I also believe that our lives are also the CULMINATION of all our beliefs. And it is those same beliefs that lead directly to our passing. Again, it’s not my place to tell someone what their beliefs are or why someone is passing...it’s to each and every individual to do that. Our lives are what they are, and we made them that (or, if you prefer, God made them that and your belief is that He/She/It lead you through it, yet in either case, why should you morn your own passing?). But, again...I understand.
None of this, however, says we can’t CHANGE the time of our passing, in my humble opinion. We can change how we look at life, ourselves, our situations. Sometimes, I feel, we can make a fresh start of things, but sometimes, we’ve made our choice and are just deciding (on deeper, more esoteric soul levels, perhaps?), it’s best to leave “now,” to return later, a little wiser, and in a different set of circumstances to better utilize this “new knowledge” we gained in the Life-Just-Lived. This is what I believe. Truly believe, and this is hard for me to say to those who need it most. Many times because I don’t want to offend that individual, or that individual’s family’s beliefs, at such a critical nexus point in their life. It’s not up to me to suddenly “impart some brand new bit of knowledge” at that point. It’s up to that individual to take from THEIR LIVED LIFE what THEY learned, and put it into INTENSE PRACTICE. It’s all up to each one of us to learn from our own lives in our own ways. If it had been meant for me to pass along my particular brand of information, it already would have happened. And it doesn’t really matter at that point, because that person is about to experience exactly what’s on the other side. As will I...in my own time.
Energy. Another point about passing. Highly focused energy cannot be maintained forever. The nature of energy IS action, not stasis. Nothing remains static, certainly not life. Everything continually transforms. Call it aging on the human frame. Call the human body a “piece of equipment,” if it helps, though it is FAR from so simple a description. Aging is what we all experience through the passing of “time.” It’s what we, Humans, perceive the transformation of life energy to be upon our corporeal equipment. So look at death as the shedding of our physical equipment for something else. Or look at it like we’re all acting in a movie—a movie about our OWN lives—and our part is done, and it’s time to take on another part. Or read books by people who’ve had near-death experiences. Just find a way to become more familiar with death, make it not so scary. Sure there are METHODS OF DEPARTURE that are downright scary, but those are fleeting. Look at departure as a way of TRANSFORMATION, not ending. Not ever not seeing those you love ever again. A secret? I believe and have experienced that we live in the same or similar groups of souls we’ve lived with in other existences. I believe this.
So, we’re never, ever, truly...alone.
Again, I don’t mean to offend or upset, and nothing I’ve said is really all that new. It’s just being presented through my filter to you. Hopefully it’ll help someone look at what’s going on from a different perspective, whether or not someone believes my point of view. And, as I said, my point of view was developed through lots of reading and studying and examination of my own life experiences. Below are some other links to books I find the most useful (and I can tell you all right now, the number one selling book of all time is NOT on that list, though I have read most of it).
Again, these are my words. From me to you. Words I’d like to say to all those going through or trying to deal with the death experience. I hope they help, because they are truly meant with love, caring, and understanding.
